Would passengers for then next flight from Bournemouth...

15.07.12 O'Hare Approach Control: "United 329 Heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, One o'clock, 3 miles, eastbound." United 329: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this... I've got that Fokker in sight." Today was tha day I took my first passenger up. Yes the first person brave enough to be the first person to fly with me and not get paid to be there. Richard (Fathead - Long story(eluded to in previous post)) was the victim and to be fair took on the tasking admirably. After a p flight brief that pretty much consisted of "don't touch this because if you do we'll die a hideous painful death and if you touch that we'll die a hideous painful death and if you touch that you're liable to start screaming like a little girl shortly afterwards".

This seemed to do the trick and he touched nothing. It was to be a standard 'tourist flight' out to the north then west over Blanford Forum request routing to the south crossing the approach path for runway 26 to Wareham and then a little twist over Corfe Castle and Swanage then back to the airfield.
The weather was good, the visibility was good and there wasn't too much traffic up. It was in all forms a good flight and to top it of Rich was like a kid in a sweetie factory. I think it made his as he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. I was very nervous taking my first passenger especially someone who was not a pilot. Being the one in total control is a big culture shock having spent so many hours with someone to give you reassurance if nothing else. Roll on the next flight and the next victim.

It all seams to happen at once...

14.06.12 Its like when you want a bus and you cant get one then when you're not ready for one you get three at once.My waiting for one was waiting for my license to come through from the CAA. I was expecting it to take a few weeks however I hadn't planned on it being sent by FedEx recoded delivery and the FedEx slip that was left when I wasn't home to sign for it to land inside my shoe basket which sits almost below the letterbox. I had to call up the CAA and found out they had sent it so I got it with 30 days without flying. Where I fly from you have to have flown within 28 days to be able to fly-for-hire. If not you have to do a check flight with he of the team to make sure you can actually fly and safely. I appreciate the need for this however it is still a bitter pill to swallow having to fly my first flight as a qualified pilot, under the supervision of someone.Just as I thought I was going to get to fly my second son was born. " my three busses at once" moment. Obviously I'm not upset by that in any way, however this did add time on to my time not flying. But the weather was stunning so all in all an amazing time. My fantastic wife gave me shore leave a few days later and my In-Laws came to offer support although he was two weeks old at this point and doing well. the weather was rubbish with low cloud and rain coming in, but there was enough of a window to do a few circuits with of the Bournemouth Helicopters team and a play on the HTA doing landings takeoffs, sloped ground and some other slow speed manoeuvres. It was good to this in 22 knots of wind as it made me feel happier i hadn't forgotten how to fly in such a long time away from it all. A few things were not as polished as I would have liked, namely coms and I developed a need to turn to starboard/right for most turns which makes it easier to run away in the turn due to loss of tail rotor authority. Obviously not a problem had I been flying the EC120. All was ok but small things like that could lead to something bigger depending on the circumstances, weather etc. Tip for flying - don't forget the basics regardless of how much technical stuff you are cramming into your head.This paved the way for another flight so I booked another for this Friday 22.06.12. This was going o be my first flight without supervision and I was due to take a good friend Richard (AKA Fathead - Long story)for a flight. The British weather being the way it is and the British summer being, well, pretty much like autum and winter managed to cancel all chances of flying

(insert picture from rain radar here).This being said, the day was not a total loss as I got a call from the BH office to ask if I was free to do a spot of movable ballast duties and go up in the EC120 (G-SKPP). The Robinson R44 had done a commercial trip outta the Isle of Wight taking some clients to a large stately home and from there they wold go to the isle of Wight festival. Sadly e starter motor gave up the ghost and decided its mortal time was done. This happened when It's pilot Nick decided to start up and fly back to Bournemouth after offloading the client's luggage. A hasty flit was made in the Schweitzer by Olli to collect Nick leaving the R44 on the island overnight. not a major problem however the landing pad had to be cleared for Sky news helicopters coming in th Ernest evening and the weather was closing in (see above). The plan on receiving the call was for myself Ollie, Gary (see earlier training posts), Len and the mechanic to fly outin th EC120 with a new starter motor fix the broken one and then bring back the R44 and the EC120.

All good apart from the gusting 40 knots tail wind. From Bournemouth airport to the landing site would normally take about 30 minutes from rotors turning to rotors stopped. Because of the significant tail wind we managed rotors turning to rotors stopped in 17 minutes. It was. Then a mater of leaving the mechanic to work his magic. Thisa called for a cup of tea and a small spot of Len bashing (teasing). After 30 minutes the parts were changed and all good to go. My self and Gary took the R44 and the others piled back in the EC120. I felt initially pleased as I hadn't been in the R44 before, however........ 40 knots head wind and turbulence, a two bladed aircraft that is naturally prone to low gee effects such as the happy story of mast bumping "A phenomenon to which helicopters fitted with semirigid rotor systems, teetering types, and underslung types are susceptible. In this phenomenon, the fuselage begins to right roll in a low-g or zero-g condition. If a lateral cyclic is applied to recover from the right roll, the mast bumps against the hub and may break in the process. The main rotor also can hit the tail cone. Mast bumping is caused by an incorrect pilot response to an abrupt, unexpected change in the helicopter’s pitch-and-roll attitude. These changes may be because of a low-g maneuver, engine failure, synchronized elevator failure, or tail rotor failure. Mast bumping can be avoided by making smooth, gradual control movements by the cyclic aft to recover low-g conditions. Thereafter, the lateral cyclic should be applied to recover from the right roll"So, to avoid the low gee effects from the turbulence we had to fly considerably slower than the normal 110 knots cruise speed. Our ground speed sas about 40 knots which I think is almost a record slow. Gary was fitting to keep her steady in flight but did a fantastic job. Something that only years of experience and thousands of flying hours can give you. He kindly said he would love to give me the controls but couldn't as it was a little 'fruity'. I wasn't too bothered with my knowledge of mast bumping. GSKPP was back way before us but it was a fantastic experience. I would recommend any training and new pilots to do the same and take advantage of trips like this with the company you fly with. It builds trust and a broader understanding of what happens in the flying community. If your flight training drop into the have your say section and let everyone know how your getting on and any good tips of links you have come across. If your not training then share your experiences and flights as well. The more the better.I'm doing this on my iPad at the moment so I can't get the pictures up where i want them so watch this space and like the videos I'll add them in as I can. Also some recommendations and discussion on iPads and flying to come. Safe flying folks